The human rights abuses in Zimbabwe go back to the early 80s, when Robert Mugabe implemented the Gukurahundi operation - the bloody murder of more than 20.000 Ndebele people. Since 2000 he has been responsible for the eviction of white farmers from their land, actions which have led to corn shortages and, consequently, to terrible famine. During the Murambatsvina (filth removal) campaign of 2005, Mugabe responded to the opposition's demonstrations by having several slums bulldozed. Hundreds of opposition members and dissidents have been arrested, kidnapped or tortured. A general ban on demonstrations has been in force since February 2007. The freedom of the press is extremely limited and there is discrimination against foreign media. Mugabe influenced the election by means of violence and absolute control in such a way that fear was caused to everyone who voted for the opposition. In mid-March 2007 Zimbabwe's most important opposition party leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was arrested during a protest rally and later severely beaten in custody.

Only a decade ago Zimbabwe had been one of the richest and most developed countries in Africa, with the highest educational standards on the continent and a literacy rate of almost 85%. Over recent years Mugabe has led his country to economic collapse and his people into bitter poverty. Officially, Zimbabwe's inflation rate is 3700%, the highest in the world. The unemployment rate is 80%. With an average life expectancy of 34 years for women and 37 years for men, Zimbabwe has become the country with the lowest life expectancy in the world.

Through this reading the international literature festival berlin would like to help draw attention to the situation in this post colonial country. The reality of Zimbabwe had been concealed long enough, unfortunately also by members of the political class in South Africa, which shoulders a special responsibility in this matter.

We would like to ask for your support for our project and we appeal to radio stations, schools, universities, theatres and other cultural institutions in Africa and all over the world to read poems by Chenjerai Hove, Chirikuré Chirikuré and Dumbudzo Marecharas, Elinor Sisulu's foreword written for the book "Gukurahundi in Zimbabwe: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands 1980-1988" (Johannesburg 2007). It attacks the silence, the result of a false sense of solidarity, which is one of the bases of Mugabe's power. Everybody is authorised to use the attached texts and poems in readings and performances as all the rights are open on September 9, 2007.